Tire Bead Breaking Tool

A tool for breaking a bead of a tire from a wheel rim, comprising:

• a prying device that includes:
• an end portion configured to engage a fixed leverage point on the wheel rim;
• a grip portion that defines a grip for levering the prying device on the fixed leverage point;
• and
• a bend portion that defines a bend that connects the end portion with the grip portion such that the grip portion is bent away from the tire relative to the end portion when the prying device is engaged on the fixed leverage point;
• and
• a wedge member that is disposed on the bend portion and that is configured to wedge between the tire and wheel rim, and push against an outer surface of the tire as the grip portion is levered toward the tire.

A method of breaking a bead of a tire from a wheel rim, comprising:

• clamping a first jaw and a second jaw of a clamping device together on a wheel rim to fix the clamping device onto the wheel rim;
• engaging a prying device onto a fixed leverage point of the clamping device;
• wedging a wedge member of the prying device between a bead of the tire and wheel rim;
• and
• levering the prying device toward the tire so that the wedge portion pushes against an outer surface of the tire to break the bead of the tire from the wheel rim.